Private First Class Keith was a member of the 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 18 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 22 April 1951.

Keith was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.